China

Andy Wong/Associated Press

China is the planet’s most populous country and second largest by land mass. Its civilization is one of the world’s oldest, and it has maintained an advanced economy for two millennia. A single-party socialist state, China has been governed by the Communist Party since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 under Mao Zedong, who would usher in both the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward.

China has become one of the globe’s fastest-growing post-industrial economies since reforms were put into place in 1978 by Deng Xiaoping and his supporters, and its rapid industry growth since then has led to competition with the United States and Europe. China’s expanding economic and global influence and perceived authoritarianism have contributed to its image as a formidable world power and played into both regional clashes and accusations of censorship and civil rights violations.

Keep up to date on breaking news in China and explore our extensive archive below.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 31, 2015

British government denies Chinese artist Ai Weiwei standard six-month business visa for neglecting to declare that he had been convicted of a crime; issues Ai an exceptional visa, which allows him to remain in Britain for 20 days. MORE

Jul. 31, 2015

More than 150 Chinese citizens sentenced to life in prison for illegal logging in Myanmar are suddenly released as part of broader amnesty. MORE

Jul. 31, 2015

Chinese Col Yang Yujun blames United States military actions for rising tensions in South China Sea, where China and several other countries are engaged in territorial disputes. MORE

Jul. 31, 2015

Former Chinese Gen Guo Boxiong is placed under investigation for graft crimes, becoming most senior military figure brought down in Pres Xi Jinping’s campaign against corruption. MORE

Jul. 31, 2015

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column suggests fluctuations in Chinese stock market shows Chinese leaders have no idea what they are doing with respect to economy, despite its 25 years of success; points to efforts to prop up stock prices, and blaming of stock plunge on foreign conspiracy, as evidence that country's leaders do not have economic acumen with which they were once credited. MORE

Jul. 30, 2015

Pres Obama suggests to African officials during four-day trip that America is better economic partner than China; president wants to reverse trade decline between United States and Africa, down from $142 billion in 2008 to $73 billion in 2014; decrease is attributed to Africans favoring trade with Chinese, who offer enticements such as low interest loans to credit-risky nations in exchange for natural resource rights. MORE

Jul. 30, 2015

Editorial condemns China's crackdown on more than 200 lawyers and associates, saying it deeply undermines any claims government has made toward improving the rule of law; argues that effort is obvious attempt to crush 'rights defense' movement under which lawyers have been attempting to defend individual rights amid corrupt legal system; argues that legal reform will be necessary before nation can assume true leadership position in world. MORE

Jul. 30, 2015

China is reconsidering its ban on imports of kimchi from South Korea as part of trade agreement that would scrap tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods and could increase trade between countries to $300 billion; ban on traditional South Korean dish of spicy cabbage was sore point of cultural pride and economics, causing Korean exports to dry up and cheaper Chinese alternatives to flood market, undercutting local producers. MORE

Jul. 29, 2015

Jul. 28, 2015

Main Shanghai share index drops 8.5 percent and Shenzhen's main index falls 7 percent, pointing to continuing volatility in China's stock markets; slide in Shanghai is steepest single-day drop in 8 years. MORE

Jul. 27, 2015

Memo From China; Chinese authorities are using broadened interpretation of law against 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble' to crack down on those using Internet to criticize Communist government; law, once confined to physical activities and altercations, has expanded its reach into cyberspace. MORE

Jul. 25, 2015

United States intelligence and congressional officials are worried that theft of records of millions of federal workers and contractors could allow China, which officials say in private was responsible for breach, to determine identities of intelligence officers secretly placed in China; intelligence officials say process of elimination could be used to identify spies already at posts in China and abroad, and could block them from future assignments. MORE

Jul. 25, 2015

Pres Obama's trip to Kenya is in part motivated by desire to mend relationship that has soured over several years and to offset China's growing influence on continent; trade between China and Africa was valued at $222 billion in 2014, about three times that between United States and Africa. MORE

Jul. 23, 2015

Chinese lawyers say that Chinese government has mounted broad crackdown on human rights lawyers that is one of most withering assaults on profession in decades; over 200 lawyers have been detained, accused of subversion and of attacking Communist Party; despite campaign, which is meant to diminish so-called rights defense movement, many lawyers refuse to back down, pointing to how significantly Chinese society has changed. MORE

Jul. 23, 2015

Artist Ai Weiwei reports Chinese officials returned his passport after it was confiscated in 2011 when he was detained on suspicion of tax evasion. MORE

Jul. 23, 2015

Ordinary Chinese citizens who jumped into euphoria of nation's bull market face sobering reality now that rally has ended; steep decline has touched off national debate about wealth in society caught between lure of quick riches and egalitarianism of its socialist past. MORE

Jul. 21, 2015

Ling Jihua, aide to former Chinese Pres Hu Jintao, is removed from public office and expelled from Communist Party after Politburo brings corruption charges against him. MORE

Jul. 21, 2015

Popular streaming websites in China, inspired by enormous popularity of South Korean television drama My Love From Another Star, are seeking to develop their own Korean-style online content in effort to tap into China's fascination with Korean popular culture. MORE

Jul. 20, 2015

China has embarked on ambitious plan to construct supercity connecting capital of Beijing to port city of Tianjin and hinterlands of Heibei Province; new megalopolis, called Jing-Jin-Ji, would cover landmass roughly the size of Kansas and hold some 130 million people; plan is intended to relieve endemic congestion in Beijing and redistribute industry and bureaucratic machinery across wider area; centerpiece is high-speed rail system that will bring major cities within an hour's commute of each other. MORE

Jul. 19, 2015

Nine tourists from South Africa, Great Britain and India who were detained in China after being accused of watching illegal videos in their hotel are released and allowed to return to their home countries; detention had prompted international outcry. MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

Scientists unearth winged dinosaur skeleton in China; new species, named Zhenyuanlong suni, is close cousin of dinosaur predator Velociraptor. MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

Editorial supports Philippines in its decision to bring case before Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, against China, over territorial dispute regarding South China Sea; urges China to participate in tribunal process as it would reaffirm its status as leader in world and its commitment to resolve such disputes within framework of international law. MORE

Jul. 16, 2015

Nine foreign tourists are held by authorities in Chinese jail following accusations that they watched 'terrorist propaganda videos' in their hotel; none have been officially charged with wrongdoing. MORE

Jul. 16, 2015

China reports its gross domestic product rose by 7 percent in second quarter, helped by financial industry; stock market is cooling however, putting pressure on Communist government to take further steps. MORE

Jul. 16, 2015

Walt Disney Company shows designs and attractions at mega-resort that is due to open in Shanghai in spring 2016, its first theme park in China. MORE

Jul. 15, 2015

Complaints were raised after the Internet giant dropped Scarborough Shoal, a longstanding name taken from a ship that smashed against it in 1784, and described the island as part of China’s Zhongsha chain. MORE

Jul. 15, 2015

Police in Shenyang, China, say they shot and killed three men who they said belonged to terrorist group; Uighur representatives are questioning official account. MORE

Jul. 15, 2015

Taipei Journal; Taipei 228 Memorial Museum commemorates the 1947 killing of 28,000 people at the hands of troops dispatched by Nationalist leader Chiang- Kai-Shek; stark tribute to dark historical chapter is at odds with trend toward whitewashed past in China and the rest of East Asia, and is a testament to Taiwan's unique democratic evolution. MORE

Jul. 15, 2015

Jul. 13, 2015

China's volatile stock market is dominated by small investors who borrowed money, and affected by Communist government's manipulation of market as policy instrument; rush of initial public offerings on Chinese market had gigantic gains in stock boom. MORE

Jul. 13, 2015

Investments in technology start-ups in Asia have risen as quickly as in United States; 46 start-ups in first half of 2015 have raised at least $100 million, and 11 are valued at $1 billion or more, including China's Apus Group. MORE

Jul. 12, 2015

China's Communist government is in last stages of 15-year campaign to settle millions of pastoralists, who once wandered China's enormous borderlands raising livestock, in order to preserve grasslands; government portrays former nomads, who have been since relocated into towns, as grateful for being saved from primitive lives, but policies around them are becoming more contentious. MORE

Jul. 12, 2015

Chinese lawyer Zhou Shifeng and at least four other colleagues from law firm specializing in rights cases have been detained in Beijing and accused of running criminal syndicate to smear Communist Party; experts say accusations are part of high-profile effort by Pres Xi Jinping's government to discredit rights lawyers and activists. MORE

Jul. 11, 2015

Chinese police detain prominent human rights lawyer Li Heping, as three other lawyers who worked together disappear in Beijing; moves appear to be another move by Communist Party to stop China human rights defense movement in China. MORE

Jul. 11, 2015

Signs of chill spread through Chinese economy in wake of stock market fall, and many business owners are nervous; sales of consumer goods, including cars, are down; market has lost 25 percent of its value in just weeks. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Stature of China's Communist Party has been damaged by tumbling stock market; millions of China's middle-class investors are questioning why party and government supported market in months leading to its fall, and then stumbled in attempts to prevent rout. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Beijing authorities release Zhang Miao, news assistant for German weekly Die Zeit, after nine-month detention; Zhang, Chinese citizen, was detained when she returned from helping report on Hong Kong pro-democracy protests; critics say incident is part of China's crackdown on foreign reporters, but government officials say Die Zeit did not obtain proper credentials for Zhang and therefore she was working illegally. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Editorial urges Chinese government, faced with stock market crash that is likely to stir social unrest, to drop traditional approach of rigid control from top levels of government and instead try to strengthen country's economic foundations and financial system, starting with identifying and eliminating sources of fraud and speculation in securities market; further urges that Pres Xi Jinping to encourage Chinese households to safely invest savings, and provide them with increased options for doing so. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Op-Ed article by policy expert Orville Schell outlines difficult concessions that governments in both United States and China must be prepared to make if there is to be a peaceful way for West to accommodate China's economic rise; holds that a continually improving relationship between the two nations can help move China forward to become a responsible stakeholder in global affairs. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

James B Stewart Common Sense column observes China's efforts to stabilize its stock market after big drops may succeed, due to motivation and resources available; points out that among its moves to aid market, government has set up $19.4 billion fund to buy stocks. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Jul. 9, 2015

Measures implemented by Chinese government to halt decline in country's stock markets have proved ineffective as stocks continue to slide and losses present political and economic challenges for Communist Party leadership; both Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges are off between 30 to 40 percent in six weeks; decline is being complicated by rules that suspend trading on stocks that decline too much in single trading session, which can create chain reaction of selling. MORE

Jul. 8, 2015

China's big stock market retreat, if it continues or worsens, will likely imperil progress of reform in banking industry and state-controlled economy; tens of millions of individual stock investors face punitive losses. MORE

Jul. 7, 2015

Lifting of all United Nations embargoes against Iran is taking on bigger import as negotiated deal nears over country's nuclear program; United States and European allies oppose lifting sanctions, while Russia and China continue to quietly press for lifting of ban. MORE

Jul. 7, 2015

Jiaojiehe journal; award-winning architect Li Xiaodong has built innovative library in Jiaojiehe, China, that has become a tourist attraction; among highly intriguing features are branches from thousands of local fruit trees that were used to cover library's roof and exterior walls. MORE

Jul. 7, 2015

Millions of ordinary Chinese investors are faced with question of whether sharp slide in stock markets is harbinger of prolonged downturn or merely periodic price dip; Chinese shares are down by 2 percent at opening of trading; volatility in Chinese market is particularly problematic as bulk of investors are individuals rather than large institutions. MORE

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All members of China’s Politburo Standing Committee, the group of politicians who rule the country, have close connections with former leaders. The top two figures of the new administration were also part of the previous government.